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Saturday, May 13, 2017

I knew our
local grocery store would be especially busy the day before Easter but the only
item I needed for our dinner was our ham, having purchased everything else
earlier that week. How hard would it be
to pick up one piece of meat?

Driving into
the parking lot confirmed my suspicions but I still had this optimistic belief
that this little jaunt was a “no-brainer”.
I parked my car, entered the store and headed straight to the
refrigerated ham bin.

Now…this is
where this routine grocery errand turned into an “adventure”. I was among several people going through the
selection process (seems others also waited until the last minute!) which
included checking out the various weights and sizes of the many hams
available. I was oblivious to my
surroundings, though, because of my laser focus on finding just the right hunk
of meat.

Suddenly I felt something bumping my
leg and in the next instant, I was aware that I was being pushed into the side
of the meat bin! I remember saying “ouch” out loud; my foot and my left
“backside” hurt! Instinctively my brain
went into escape mode and I started pushing myself sideways to get unpinned
from in between the motorized cart (which was still moving) and the meat bin.

While this was going on, I hear a
panicked voice say, “It won’t stop! It won’t stop!” Yes, this poor woman driving a motorized cart
was traumatized because her cart was out of control.

Running into the side of the meat bin
brought her cart to a sudden stop; she then asked if I was ok. I reassured her I was and then made a beeline
for the checkout; all I wanted to do was get out of that store. I have to confess, I didn’t even look at her
face and would not be able to identify her if she was standing in front of me.

By the time I paid for my meat and
was heading for my car, the whole scene struck me as uproariously funny,
especially since I escaped real injury. Later that day I shared my adventure on
Facebook and the posted replies made me laugh all over again.

One friend, having gone through a
time she needed to use a similar motorized cart, described herself at a family
gathering where she, too, lost control and wiped out a food table (without
injury to anyone, I must add). Another
friend said her mom was in the store about the time I was but adamantly assured
her she didn’t hit anyone! Another asked
if my ham had survived. And one of my
delightfully crazy church pastors reported, “Oh how I wish I could have seen it
all play out.”

This story, as always, brings me to a
more serious memory. There was a time when my life was basically out of
control. I was a believer in Jesus, saved, born again…but not really making Him
Lord of my life. I was living as though I was pretty sure I could handle life
on my own. I was driving/controlling my “life cart” and thinking I was
navigating it pretty well.

And then a series of things happened;
I had a wake-up call, you might say. In
that moment I realized I was pretty much spinning out of control. From the outside, it looked like I had my
life together but if my heart could be viewed by others, it would have revealed
a mess. I had a string of broken
romantic relationships (between my divorce and remarriage) coupled with a sense
of failure in my role as an ambassador for Jesus. Ouch!

I needed to turn the control back
over to the One Who created me. Only then could I get that “life cart” going in
the right direction, one that kept me from hurting others and disappointing
Jesus. When Charlie came into my life, it was like God said…”this guy is going
to minister to you as you draw closer to one another.” As our relationship gathered steam, Charlie
established godly boundaries for dating and courtship and we were able to move
forward in the way God intended.

I love Proverbs 3:5-6 because it
speaks blessing and wisdom into my life. “Trust in the Lord with all your
heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.”
Amen.